Unmerited Grace and Love
“…God is Love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” 1 John 4:16
The spirit led me to read Luke 6: 27-36 and would not let me keep my thoughts to myself even though I tried to. As always, the Counselor from the living God who lives inside of me won!
Our society uses the word 'love' a lot. I would even argue that the word love is used across different religious groups and among atheists without them realizing they are speaking of God. The world's number one enemy since the Garden of Eden knew that Love is a powerful tool when it is used as intended. Therefore, as he impersonates himself as a god throughout history, he manipulates the word Love to be used in ways that hurts God (Revelations 13:6-8). What is the greatest commandment in God’s law? In Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and 10:12, God reminded His chosen people that “God is One” and they must love Him with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their strength. The verse in Deuteronomy 10:12 further reminded us to fear God and to love Him. Jesus, the word of God in flesh, relayed the same message to all his Disciples/Christians in Matthew 22:37-38 “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?” Jesus declared, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.…” Jesus did not just tell us that God is love, he went further by becoming the ultimate gift of love by dying on the cross without any guarantee that we would choose God (John 3:16-19, 1Peter 2:21-24, Ephesians 3: 14-21, John 13:34-35).
The word 'grace' in Christian theology is defined as “the spontaneous, unmerited gift, of the divine, favor in the salvation of sinners and the divine influence of operating in individuals for their generation and sanctification (Britannica Dictionary). According to this definition, grace is not something we earned, it is given to us. Think of what you and I were before we became a Christian and think of what you continue to struggle with today. If I had to earn God’s grace, I know hell would be the automatic destination for me because I can never earn it no matter how hard I might try. It is a gift! “For by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:8-10). If you are reading this devotion and you have not decided to make Jesus the Lord of your life, the gift of God's grace is available to you as well, all you must do is accept it, open it, and use it. No matter where you are in your life, what others have said about you, or what you have experienced in your life, Jesus is ready to welcome you just as you are. He can transform you to become the beautiful butterfly you were intended to be from the day you were created.
Oftentimes when we speak of love as a Disciple/Christian we reference 1Corinthians 13: 4-8 and rightly so because this is the description and example of God throughout the entire Bible. The problem is we often use the passage but do not often apply it in our lives. Or we apply it to a degree/extent where there is a clause. You know what type of clauses I am referring to if we are honest with ourselves! For example, we make statements like, God knows that I have been patient with…. I have reached my limit. Or we say it is mine, I work hard for it, why should I let someone else use it or give it to people who did not work for it or who are lazy? The truth is the list can go on and on and on…. Contrast our daily attitude toward ourselves and other people around us, reflect for a moment, and ask yourself if Jesus was to treat you or me the way you view or perceive yourself and others, where would you be today? Apostle Paul did not just understand the magnitude of God’s love in his life; he experienced it, and out of gratitude for the grace which is a gift from God through the Holy Spirit, he was able to write what love is and what love is not according to the overwhelming grace that God through Jesus Christ had shown him (Romans chapter 7). If you have not taken the time to study Apostle Paul, do it! In my opinion, after Jesus, Paul is the second example we should imitate as we strive to be like Jesus. He mirrors Jesus’ mission in the human form. One of the amazing characteristics about Apostle Paul that is worth imitating is his humility about not taking any credit for his worldly or spiritual accomplishments. Instead, he chose to boast in Jesus, our Savior and Lord (2 Corinthians 11:16-12:6-10). You might be wondering when I will share about Luke chapter 6? How can I begin to understand or embrace Jesus’ teaching in Luke 6: 17-36 if I do not spend some time understanding his unmerited grace and love for me? “Love Beyond Measure.”
